In Stasis: An Expansion
by crypticnotions
Summary: Carter continues to surprise John. This first part expands on the fifth section of In Stasis. You do not need to read that to understand this. I just wanted to write some happy John/Joss for a change.


AN: Don't own any of them.

Summary: An expansion of the fifth section of In Stasis. You don't need to have read that to read this. I wanted to write a happy John/Joss story. I may expand other moments from In Stasis.

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John found himself staring into the freezer section of a bodega around the corner from his last number's old apartment building.

The case had been one of the easiest ones he and Finch had solved. Michael Dorian, a cashier at a local deli, had witnessed an exchange of funds he shouldn't have. Without knowing he was the target of a drug-running gang, he'd been in danger of being gunned down by some unlucky kids trying to kill their way into high-ranking status within the group. A quick push in the right direction and Michael was easily able to recall the details to the police and get his family settled out of state. The kids found themselves on the positive end of Finch's anonymous resources. John was so pleased with how the situation had gone down that he hadn't even needed to call Carter for his normal request for help.

However, standing in front of the freezer case with a bunch of ripened bananas in one hand and a sloshing two-liter of Coke tucked under his arm, he couldn't help but think of her.

In a box on the lower shelf was a set of frozen treats that he hadn't thought about for a month. His mind flashed back to Carter sitting beside him in her car while they were on a stakeout.

"Really?" he recalled asking.

She smiled then. "Yes, really. Fla-Vor-Ice is my favorite."

"I never pictured you as an ice pop fan."

"I'm sure there are a lot of things you've never pictured me as." Her dimple had made a stunning appearance at the look on his face. Her laughter nudged the side of his face upward.

"You sure go for the jugular, Carter."

She shrugged. "Why not. You only live once, right?"

"Yolo, Carter? Is Taylor rubbing off on you?"

It was her turn to look surprised. "You're keeping up with the kids' lingo now, John?"

He continued smiling. "Maybe."

Their conversation had been cut short by someone running out of the apartment they were keeping an eye on.

Still, that conversation, like everything related to Carter, stuck with him. It was an easy choice to reach into the cold unit and grab a batch of netted, already frozen ice pops.

He decided not to take the train to her house. With everyone getting ready for fireworks, the crowds were a little thicker than normal. He stepped out into the blazing sun that instantly caused sweat to soak through his worn T-shirt, hailed a taxi across town and tipped the driver an extra twenty for not being the kind of person that needed to fill the silence with empty chatter.

Standing outside of Carter's apartment with his brown bag, he wondered if this was a bad idea. She hadn't mentioned plans and a quick look at the schematics of bugs he'd attached to her phone's GPS let him know she was home. What if she didn't want company? She'd been almost delirious with joy when mentioning Taylor would be gone for summer camp that week. Something about the heat had Taylor and Joss barely tolerating each other.

And while John knew they had a mutual respect and admiration for each other, they'd just started publicly calling each other friends. He swallowed down the nerves he felt and entered her building.

Three knocks and trying to distinguish if the music playing loudly in her place was purposeful for sinister reasons, he put the bag on the carpet outside of her door and picked the lock. Hoisting the bag on his hip, he rounded the corner. He gingerly stepped inside. He had no clue what would happen if Carter didn't realize it was him and decided to reach for her gun.

Instead, he was surprised to see only her lower half in view. She was tucked inside her stove in a pair of cut-off jean shorts. As if that wasn't surprising enough, she was warbling along with the music streaming out of an old fashioned boom box. She was singing a very good duet with Patsy Cline. _Damn_, he thought. _Where had this woman come from?_

She took that moment to sit back on her haunches.

She scolded him then. "Why must you continue to scare me by sneaking around?" She didn't bother asking him how he had entered. It wasn't his first time inside and he knew she was aware it was unlikely to be his last surprise visit. How she felt about that was another thing altogether.

The hand she'd flung to her chest in shock brought attention to the cleavage peeking out of her tank top. He managed to keep his eyes from lingering.

He had no response for her comment. Instead, a thousand questions swam in his head. Like how come she was cleaning on the fourth of July or why was she singing to country music or why was he reluctant to remove the brown bag away from the front of his suddenly tight jeans?

She yanked off her rubber gloves and looked inside of the bag he placed on the counter. She instinctively knew he'd brought her a treat.

His question about her affinity for country music won out and he asked her.

She explained how the guys in her unit had turned her on to classic country.

He received his own prize from the look on her face. Moments later, she handed him a slightly melted ice pop. He was mesmerized by her full lips encasing the pop. He watched her bite into the plastic surrounding her blue Berry Punch flavor and suck the ice down. He jerked his head toward the boom box to distract himself from the jolt of lust that surged through him at her action.

"Haven't seen one of those in awhile."

The boom box took up half her counter and had faded silver buttons and a cassette slot. He was surprised the player even had CD playing capabilities.

"It was my husband's."

He almost apologized for asking then, but her voice held no bitterness or sadness. It was just matter of fact.

"I'm glad something of his lasted long."

John couldn't help but raise a brow at the comment.

She laughed then. "You are so easy, John."

"You have no idea, Joss."

Her smile tempered. Regularly calling her Joss was a new thing. He wasn't sure how she was taking it.

She turned and looked back into the bag.

"So you were going to make a meal out of bananas and Coke?"

"Yes, it's my specialty."

"Ah. This is worst than Taylor's idea of a meal. I'm not sure I want to be invited over for dinner."

He filed away her comment about a dinner invitation for later. Already, his mind ran through his options for a meal he could serve her.

"You don't love Coke as an appetizer?" he asked. A smirk settled into the lines around his mouth.

"Not particularly. Have you eaten? Do you want to eat?"

He couldn't keep the playful giddiness out of his voice. "Are you asking me to eat dinner with you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing as gourmet as bananas and Coke, but I suspect the pizza place around the corner might deliver to us before the fireworks start."

"Okay." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "But let's listen to some more music."

"Deal."

He couldn't help noticing her reaching for another ice pop while grabbing her phone. She placed the order in for a large pizza and cranked the music up again.

She reached one slender arm out to him, beckoning him to stand and sing with her. By the end of "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash, they were just trying to stay upright from all the laughter that burst between them. It was the first time he could recall seeing her laugh like that. It was the first time he could recall laughing like that, and it did something to his soul in a way he was unprepared for.

"You are just full of surprises," he said between songs.

"Of course I am, John, and don't you forget it."


End file.
